Action Report: Tom Kim, Akshay Bhatia popular picks ahead of Rocket Mortgage Classic

Tom Kim may have fallen just short in his battle with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler at the Travelers Championship, but it hasn’t stopped bettors from reloading on the pre-tournament favorite at this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Kim went head-to-head with Scheffler on the back nine, ultimately falling short on the first playoff hole, on the way to posting a second top-five finish in his last four starts.

As of Wednesday, Kim is the most popular player at the BetMGM* online sportsbook ahead of the sixth playing of the Rocket Mortgage at Detroit Golf Club.

With no Scheffler this week, Kim has the best odds in the field (+1200) and is pulling in the most handle (13.7%) on the most tickets (13.8%).

This is Kim’s ninth straight week playing a PGA TOUR event and the Korean has a seventh-place finish at Detroit Golf Club in 2022 to fall back on.

Another player generating heavy interest is Akshay Bhatia, who also had a solid week at the Travelers Championship, finishing T5.

Bhatia (+2000, down from +2200) is drawing the second-highest handle (12.1%) on the second-most tickets (9.9%).

He missed the cut in his only start at Detroit Golf Club last year but has been playing solid golf lately. He has three straight top-25 finishes, including a T16 at the U.S. Open.

Bhatia, Kim and Cameron Young (+1400) are BetMGM’s biggest liabilities this week in golf betting.

Current handle and tickets

Handle

1. Tom Kim – 13.7%
2. Akshay Bhatia – 12.1%
3. Cameron Young – 9.3%
4. Min Woo Lee – 8.8%
5. Taylor Pendrith – 7.6%

Tickets

1. Tom Kim – 13.8%
2. Akshay Bhatia – 9.9%
3. Cameron Young – 9.3%
4. Rickie Fowler – 5.6%
5. Min Woo Lee – 5.6%

Young is drawing attention following his 59 last Saturday in the third round of the Travelers Championship. Ultimately, he finished T9. He also has had some success at this event, finishing T2 in his only start back in 2022.

Rickie Fowler (+4000) is the defending champion. It hasn’t been his best season thus far, but he’s coming off a T20 last week.

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